The company commissioned Paul Williams as the architect for the new building. The company's decision to locate here, in part, signaled the decline of the Central Avenue District for the City's African American Population. At that time this location was described as "most attractive business corners outside of downtown Los Angeles" due to its convenient location on major bus lines. In 1946 the board of the Golden State Mutual Company decided it had outgrown its second 1928 building on Central Ave (also an historic building) and to relocate to a new site at the corner of West Adams Boulevard and South Western Ave (1999 West Adams) in the West Adams District. The company grew extensively during the 1920s and 1930s serving this previously unserved market. This was the company's second building to bear this name, the first having been built in 1928.įounded in 1925 Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company (GSM) was the largest African American owned insurance company in the Western United States and was the first to offer all persons life insurance regardless of race. The building is located in West Adams in South Los Angeles about 3.5 miles southwest of Downtown Los Angeles and 2 miles northwest of Exposition Park and USC. The building was designed by Paul Revere Williams, the noted African-American Architect. With a wealth of interior finishes in the styles of the day, the buyer approached custom design on a reasonable budget.The Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building is a landmark 5-story, 84 ft (26 m) office building in the Late Modern style built in 1949 as the headquarters for its namesake company. SeaView Palos Verdes, begun in 1960, was a modernist option to tract housing, offering eight designs that could be flipped to create 16 possible floor plans. Thirty years later, Williams returned with a more ambitious project. Williams first residential project in Palos Verdes was Williamsburg Lane in Rolling Hills, completed in the 1930s offering early-American style homes. Not limited to any particular aesthetic or building style, Williams went on to excel in midcentury modern design, working in both curvilinear form in the Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport (1961, with Pereira & Luckman Architects) and the rectilinear designs favored by other midcentury modern architects. Through the first decades of his career, he was acclaimed as one of leading architects of the Spanish Revival movement in California. Williams was soon known as “architect to the stars” as his portfolio of notable clients grew. Cord, maker of the Cord automobile, to build his Hollywood residence. Six years after opening his practice, he was commissioned to design a home by horse racing entrepreneur Jack Atkins. Austin from 1920 to 1923 as a draughtsman.īy the early 1930s, his own designs-bolstered by his elegant rendering style-were acclaimed in their own right. He served on the board of the Los Angeles Planning Commission in 1920, and worked for architect John C. Williams won an architecture competition at age 25, and opened his own office three years later. In 1923 he became the first African-American member of the AIA (American Institute of Architects). He was certified as an architect in 1921 – becoming the first African-American licensed architect west of the Mississippi. Orphaned at age four, Williams attended the Los Angeles School of Art, where he excelled in drawing, and University of Southern California, School of Engineering. A favorite of celebrities, he designed homes for Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Anthony Quinn, and Barbara Stanwyck. Paul Revere Williams practiced largely in Southern California, building residences as well as commercial and public buildings. Born February 18, 1894, Los Angeles, Californiaĭied January 23, 1980, Los Angeles, California
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |